New York men charged in Harford with possessing 21 fraudulent credit cards

Two New York men were arrested in Harford County after being found with 21 allegedly fraudulent credit cards bearing one of their names.

Both men have since posted bail and are out of police custody, according to court records.

Tavar N. Chapman, 24, of the 100 block of Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Ruben N. Candelario, 27, of the 2900 block of West 23rd Street in Brooklyn, N.Y., were charged with four counts each of counterfeit credit cards.

Both were pulled over in Harford County on I-95 for speeding at 4:22 p.m. last Wednesday.

A Maryland State Police trooper searched the men and car after observing "a host of criminal indicators," and found 21 credit cards wrapped in a rubber band underneath the gear box "in a hidden compartment inside the center console," according to the statement of charges.

The credit cards all had Chapman's name and were all from different banks, including nine from Bank of America, eight from Capital One, three from Chase and one from HSBC, according to the charging documents.

The trooper said he recognized the cards as fraudulent "based on prior experience with credit card fraud cases," according to the statement of charges.

The involved credit card companies were later notified, and they told police the account numbers for the cards "belonged to numerous victims in which the cards were fraudulent or the accounts did not exist."

"The U.S. Secret Service was also contacted advising that the credit cards were also fraudulent based off the credit card numbers and accounts," the statement of charges said.

Candelario denied any involvement with the cards and Chapman refused to talk, according to the statement.

Chapman was previously arrested for credit card fraud in February 2012 by another Maryland State Police trooper. According to Maryland electric court records, he was charged with possessing counterfeit credit cards and using the credit card of another; however, both charges were placed on the stet docket last April, meaning they are inactive.

On Thursday, Harford County District Court Judge Mimi Cooper ordered Candelario to be held on $30,000 bail and Friday ordered Chapman to be held on $100,000 bail.

Chapman and Candelario posted bail and were freed from police custody Friday afternoon, according to electronic court records. Candelario has a trial date in District Court on April 16. Chapman's trial date is May 9.